Sports
Accra Great Olympics@70 …What’s there to celebrate?

• Club’s Board Chairman, Mr Amarkai Amarteifio and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Oloboi
Commodore join the players to celebrate the GHALCA Top 6 trophy, the last the club won
Wonder Club, Accra Great Olympics will mark its 70 years of existence tomorrow, hurray!
As a club founded on April 21, 1954, it assumed a position as the third force of Ghana football behind Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko.
Under normal circumstances, tomorrow must be one of the happiest days in the lives of the club’s faithful because a Platinum anniversary is no mean an achievement.
Growing up, many clubs have passed through the football scene, all at a point fighting to be considered as one of the established forces.
But one may ask, where are they now?
Clubs like Dawu Youngsters, Prestea Mine Stars, Ho Voradep, Soccer Missionaries, Maxbees, Kumasi Cornerstones, Iron Breakers, and many others in the past thrilled and entertained fans but have disappeared.
But Olympics have managed to survive similar storms that plunged these clubs into obscurity.
The height of the difficult patch they threaded on was three relegations all of which they managed to return, the reason the AGOSU faithful would celebrate the milestone as a Premier League club.
On such a gargantuan occasion, the club should be celebrating its achievements, no matter how small they are – two Premier League titles in 1970 and 1974; and three-time FA Cup champions – in 1975, 1983, and 1995.
That aside, Olympics also won the Super Cup and the Guinness Gala competitions and as a few would cynically add, the Temogen Cup after beating Hearts of Oak.
In terms of players, Great Olympics have produced some of the finest players across the various generations.
They had the late Cecil Jones Attuquayefio, Peter Lamptey, the late Emmanuel Awuley Quaye, Billy Lomotey, Shittu Mudah, George Alhassan, Abdul Aziz, Amoah Tawiah, and a host of others.
Without a doubt, history makes a place for the Wonder Club as a formidable side in Ghana.
But already, some critics of the club and a few daring loyalists are beginning to question what is there to celebrate.
For such people, the claim of the ‘Dade’ club to be the third force of Ghana football must come with corresponding achievement or statistics to suggest so.
The Wonder Club may lack a continental laurel in their cabinet but put in sterling performances on the few occasions they qualified for continental club competitions, notably against clubs like Abhaluya Club of Kenya, MMM of Madagascar, Coffee Club of Uganda, Enugu Rangers, Invincible XI from Liberia, Motemba Pembe of then Zaire (now DR Congo) and others.
Interestingly, Olympics@70 also coincides with the 50th anniversary of the club’s last league win. One may ask again, is that worth celebrating?
Within that period, Hearts and Kotoko have dominated the scene and built on their successes and left few spaces for clubs like Ashantigold SC, Medeama, Aduana SC, Berekum Chelsea to dominate the league.
It may be a time for a few to party but for dye-in-the wool followers, the anniversary period should call for sober reflection on the way forward to make Oly great again.
Until then, happy 70th Platinum birthday to the Wonder Club of the world.
By Andrew Nortey
Sports
A look at Africa’s chances at FIFA Club World Cup

With the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup soon entering the exciting quarter-finals stage, an increased in global attention will be on the African game, as four strong African contenders prepare to represent the continent at the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup.
The new and expanded version of the global club showpiece will take place in the United States between June 14 and July 13.
Reigning African champions Al Ahly SC, Tunisian giants ES Tunis, Morocco’s Wydad AC and Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa are the four clubs set to compete in the 32-club competition featuring some of the best clubs in world football.
CAFOnline takes a look at how the four representatives might fare at the much-anticipated competition.
Al Ahly SC – Egypt
The African champions will be making their 10th appearance at FIFA Club World Cup, with an impressive record of three bronze medals from their previous nine showings.
Guided by the 64-year-old Marcel Kohler who has enjoyed great success with the club, bagging two successive TotalEnergies CAF Champions League titles with the Red Devils, a lot will be expected of the club heading to the US firmly carrying the title of African champions.
The Egyptians face a mammoth task, having been drawn in Group A along with CONMEBOL COPA Libertadores champions SE Palmeiras (Brazil), FC Benfica (Portugal) as well as a Lionel Messi’s inspired Inter Miami CF (USA).
The 12-time African champions will be banking on the experience of their veteran campaigners such as Hussein El Shahat, Mohammed Al Shenawy as well as Mohamed Hany who have been highly instrumental in their most recent silverware collection.
Espérance Sportive de Tunis – Tunisia
Tunisian giants, Espérance Sportive de Tunis are headed to their fourth FIFA Club World Cup, having appeared at the competition’s 2011, 2018 and 2019 editions.
The Tunisians are yet to make a mark at the global showpiece and will be looking at stamping their authority as one of the best teams from the continent.
Last season’s TotalEnergies CAF Champions League runners-up are drawn in Group D alongside former European champions Chelsea FC, Brazil’s CR Flamengo as well as Club Leon of Mexico.
Captained by Mohamed Amine Ben Hamida who marshals the defence, the Tunisians will be relying on the trickery and speed of their attack that will be led by the likes of Youcef Belaili and newly signed Elias Mokwana.
Mamelodi Sundowns – South Africa
This year’s edition marks Mamelodi Sundowns’ second FIFA World Cup appearance after their 2026 debut in Japan.
The South Africans find themselves in a tough Group F alongside German powerhouse Borussia Dortmund, Fluminense FC of Brazil as well as Ulsan HD of Korea.
Affectionately known as the Brazilians for their enterprising style of play, the stage is set for the former African champions to shine under their new coach, Miguel Cardoso.
Key to Sundowns’ success will be their South American signings, Lucas Ribeiro Costa (Brazil) Marcelo Allende (Chile) as well as Lucas Suarez (Argentina) who seemed to have gelled well at the club.
Wydad AC – Morocco
Proud hosts of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations 2025 and the FIFA World Cup 2030, Morocco will be fully behind their club Wydad Athletic Club when they make their first FIFA Club World Cup appearance.
Having successfully stamped their authority as one of Africa’s best clubs, the Moroccans will be using the global showpiece to grow their presence at the world stage.
Drawn in a tough Group G along with English champions Manchester City, UAE’s Al Ain FC as well as Italian giants Juventus, the Moroccans have a tough group stage assignment ahead of them.
Currently undergoing a rebuilding phase under former Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena, the FIFA Club World Cup presents an exciting challenge for the club, as they look to rebuild in what looks to be a new era for the former African champions.
Sports
CAF releases draw procedure for TotalEnergies U-20 Africa Cup of Nations Cote D’Ivoire 2025

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has released the draw procedure for the 2025 TotalEnergies U-20 Africa Cup of Nations.
Ghana will join 12 other countries for the biennial youth tournament, scheduled to take place in Cote D’Ivoire from April 26 to May 18, 2025.
The participating teams include Egypt and Morocco from North Africa, holders Senegal and Sierra Leone from WAFU A, Nigeria, Ghana, and host Cote d’Ivoire from WAFU B, Tanzania and Kenya from CECAFA, South Africa and Zambia from COSAFA, and DR Congo from Central Africa.
The 13 teams will be distributed into three groups: one group of five teams (A) and two groups of four teams (B and C).
The top two teams from each group will qualify for the knockout stages, along with the two best third-placed teams.
The ranking of the third-placed teams will be determined after removing the results of the team ranked fifth in Group A.
The knockout stages will consist of the quarterfinals, semifinals, third-place match, and final.
RANKING:
Senegal – Winner in 2023
Nigeria – Third place in 2023
Congo – Second in group stage
Egypt – Third in group stage
Zambia – Fourth in group stage
Note: The remaining teams did not qualify.
Cote d’Ivoire, the host, will occupy position A1.
Senegal, the holder of the title from the 2023 edition, will occupy position C1, while Nigeria, the third-placed team in 2023, will occupy position B1.
Congo, Egypt, and Zambia, the next best-ranked teams from the 2023 edition, will be in level 2.
DRAW PROCEDURES:
In level 1, Cote d’Ivoire will occupy position A1, Nigeria will occupy position B1, and Senegal will occupy position C1.
Five pots will be used for the draw:
Pot 1: The teams in level 2 (Congo, Egypt, and Zambia)
Pot 2: The remaining seven teams (Ghana, RD Congo, Morocco, Sierra Leone, Kenya, South Africa, and Tanzania)
Pot 3: Positions A2, B2, and C2
Pot 4: Positions A3, B3, and C3
Pot 5: Positions A4, B4, and C4
The teams in level 2 will be drawn into positions A2, B2, and C2. The remaining teams will be drawn into positions A3, B3, C3, A4, B4, and C4. The remaining team will automatically occupy position A5.
Ghana last won the title in 2021, defeating Uganda 2-0 in the final in